In the latest major update to Riot Games’ first-person shooter “Valorant,” fans were pleasantly surprised by the introduction of a new character in the game’s growing roster. The newest Valorant agent, a Scottish troublemaker named Clove, joins the game’s list of Controller agents, meaning their utility centers around laying down “smokes” throughout the map to set up their team for success.
Clove is also the first character in a long time to have the ability to self-revive — following Duelist Phoenix and Initiator KAY/O. This ability is activated via their ‘X’ ultimate when they die, allowing them to go invincible for a few seconds after death. The catch? Clove has to get a kill or damage assist after revival to stay in the game, or they automatically die a second time.
Most notably, however, Clove has made headlines for factors unrelated to their in-game abilities. As the 25th Valorant agent introduced into the game, Clove is “Valorant’s” first-ever non-binary agent. While their gender identity doesn’t directly impact gameplay elements or outcomes, Riot Games, eSports pros, and content creators have insisted that fans and players refer to the character by their preferred pronouns: they/them.
Clove’s impact on gameplay and eSports
“Valorant” has quickly established itself on the eSports scene after releasing in 2020. To its credit, the eSports title was recently crowned Best eSports Game at The Game Awards 2023, beating out fellow Riot Games entry, MOBA eSports favorite League of Legends.
This Valorant betting guide explains that while the game may seem similar to fellow FPS eSports title Counter-Strike in its tactical gunplay, “Valorant” manages to stay fresh and different from its predecessor, keeping fans, viewers, and bettors on their toes. One of the ways the game does this is by combining tactical shooting with agent abilities. Like another FPS eSports favorite, “Overwatch,” “Valorant” characters can activate different skills and abilities that can impact the outcome of rounds and games. While Clove can self-revive, for example, older controller Brimstone can call in an “orbital strike” that damages — and often kills — enemies within a specified area.
In addition to these game-breaking abilities and in-game elements, Riot diligently updates the game with new content, including new characters with all-new abilities, new maps, and, occasionally, a new weapon or two. As such, it’s not hard to imagine why “Valorant” won Best eSports Game two years in a row despite being relatively new to the scene and competing with long-time fan favorites like “Counter-Strike” or “Overwatch.”
Still, at this point, it’s too early to determine Clove’s impact on “Valorant’s” eSports scene. This is mainly because of a recent announcement from Riot that the character is ineligible for VCT. This is due to an unnamed bug developers are working to fix. Initially, Riot had planned for the agent to make its VCT debut for Week 2 of Stage 1 of the ongoing regional leagues. Fresh off the conclusion of VCT Masters Madrid — during which Clove was officially announced — fans were understandably excited to see how their favorite teams would incorporate the Scottish controller agent into their team compositions.
Valorant and queer representation
While Clove’s gender identity and preferred pronouns are a breath of fresh air in the normally hetero-male-dominated gaming community, they certainly aren’t Riot Games’ first attempt at providing much-needed LGBT representation in gaming. Along with the official VCT circuits, Riot Games announced the VCT Game Changers initiative in 2021. The move is meant to provide the game’s huge fanbase of women an avenue to play and compete professionally.
Despite becoming a seemingly separate, all-female eSports league for Valorant, Riot has explicitly stated that the Game Changers program is for women and marginalized genders. As such, some Game Changers teams have trans and non-binary players in their rosters. Indeed, the introduction of non-binary agent Clove three years after Game Changers’ beginning shouldn’t come as a surprise to avid fans of the title.
Going back into the game, Clove is also not the first explicitly queer character in the game. “Nanobomb” is the fan-given name to a ship between characters Killjoy and Raze — Nano from Killjoy’s Nanoswarm grenade ability and bomb from Raze’s explosive abilities built around grenades, rockets, and a “Boom bot.” While fans expected no official confirmation from Riot Games during initial speculations based on the two women’s in-game interactions and voice lines, the developer shocked fans in December 2022 when they officially canonized the Nanobomb relationship in a “social media takeover” campaign where fans were gifted a romantic image of Killjoy and Raze on vacation to Brazil.
